Attachment for bursting machine



Nov. 28, 1961 J. LACH ErAL= ATTACHMENT FOR BURSTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26, 1959 Nov. 28, 1961 J. LACH ETA].

ATTACHMENT FOR BURSTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 26, 1959 Nov. 28, 1961 Filed March 26, 1959 FHEEI J. LACH ETAL 3,010,630

ATTACHMENT FOR BURSI'ING MACHINE 5 She ets-Sheet 4 Nov. 28, 1961 J. LACH EI'AL 3,010,630

ATTACHMENT FOR BURSTING MACHINE Filed March 26, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5- FIE 5E:

United States Patent O 3 010,630 ATTACHNIENT FdR BURSTING MACHINE John Lach, Chicago, and Charles D. Frankenberger, La Grange Park, 111., assignors to Uarco, Incorporated Filed Mar. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 802,142 6 Claims. (Cl. 225-100) This invention relates to an attachment for a bursting machine for separating continuous-form stationery into its individual form lengths. The attachment specifically is for the purpose of converting the ordinary bursting machine to one capable of separating tabulating cards from continuous-form.

Tabulating cards are generally made of relatively heavy paper stock and so formed as to have very accurate lengths and widths as well as accurately formed edge surfaces. The cards, as made in continuous-form, are each provided with a relatively narrow waste portion at either margin so that adjoining waste portions of adjoining cards are overlapped and glued or otherwise fastened together to place the cards in continuousform. These cards may be written upon in writing machines such as tabulating machines and thereafter handled in the usual business office methods in order to separate the cards into their individual form lengths. Ordinarily, the cards in continuous-form are zig-zag folded at cross lines of weakening between the rearward edge of one card and a leading edge of the waste portion connected to the trailing card. Also, the cards are provided with marginal feed bands which are perforated in order to receive pinwheel feed devices.

The bursting machines for separating continuous-form into individual form lengths are generally equipped with front and rear pairs of cooperating rolls which grip the stationery, the rear rolls turning faster than the front rolls in order to tension the paper or stationery, bursting forms at a line of weakening between them. The position of the rear set of bursting rolls relative to the front rolls may be adjustable to accommodate forms of varying length. Seven and eleven inch forms are quite common and a great number of bursting machines can adjust the rolls to a position of a minimum of three and a half inch spacing between the bights of the rolls. The rolls of the bursting machine cannot be used to burst tabulating cards successfully because the rolls cannot be positioned so that only one line of weakening would exist between adjacent rolls at the time of bursting.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an attachment for a bursting machine enabling the machine to separate tabulating cards from continuous-form and remove Waste portions from the individual cards.

Another object is to provide a compact self-contained attachment of the character described which is easily positioned relative to the bursting machine and easily removed from such position.

Another object is to provide an attachment of the character described which obtains its drive from a bursting machine and requires no separate motor or motive power.

A further object is to provide such an attachment capable of resting upon the frame of the bursting machine without requiring further supporting framework or floor space in a business olfice other than that already occupied by the bursting machine to which it is attached.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partially diagrammatic vertical elevational view through the attachment of the present invention related to the bursting rolls of a bursting machine;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view, partially broken away and partially diagrammatic of tabulating cards and illustrating the operation of bursting the waste portions from the individual cards;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary partially diagrammatic elevational view of the rolls for removing the waste portions from the cards;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the attachment of the present invention showing its relation to a bursting machine when in operative relation therewith;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the attachment shown in FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevation view of the bursting machine attachment shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

The bursting machine usually found in a business office equipped to handle continuous form stationery is a unit having its own framework and generally its own electric motor to provide the power for turning the rolls. The operation of bursting machines is known and generally involves a pair of cooperating rolls which frictionally engage the stationery and feed it forwardly toward another pair of rolls turning faster than the first pair. When the stationery enters the bights of the second pair of rolls, it is tensioned between the two pair of rolls and the paper will break at its weakest point. Referring to FIGURE 1, a bursting machine is shown as having a supporting table 7 elevated upon legs 8 and 9 and having an upper-frame 10 supporting a pair of cooperating front rolls 11 and 12, ordinarily used to feed continuous stationery forwardly in the machine. The rolls'll and 12 are supported upon shafts 14 and 15 mounted in the frame 10 of the bursting machine.:=-In the present inven tion, the continuous tabulating cards 13 are led over a removable housing 12a over the rolls 11 and 12 toward a pair of rear bursting rolls 16 and 17. The rear rolls are supported in a movable frame 18 supported upon the table 7 in such a manner that the center line of the rear rolls may be moved relative to the center line of the forward or front rolls 11 and 12. The entire frame '18 is adjustable in position longitudinally of the table 7. The details of such adjustment and the drive to the front and rear bursting rolls'is not shown as such structure is conventional and forms part of commercially available bursting machines. A breaker roll 19 is supported between the front and'rear rolls and has its upper surface 20 above the straight line between the bights of the front and rear bursting rolls ordinarily for the purpose of initiating tearing along a line of weakening. When the machine is used for the tabulating cards, the breaker-roll is bypassed.

The structure of the tabulating cards is such that individual cards and a waste portion attached to the individual card may be burst from the continuous-form by the rear rolls ofthe bursting machine and the rolls of the attachment. Referring to the upper portion of FIG- URE '2, the continuous-form of tabulating cards 13 is illustrated as having an upper card 21 attached toa lower card 22 by a line of weakening 23 extending longitudinally of a card (across the strip of cards) having alternate offset portions die cut to form a clean, straight edge between the card portions.

The bursting of the cards from continuous form is accomplished by the cooperative effort of therear bursting rolls 16, 17 operating in conjunction with coacting rolls 40, 41 journalled in the attachment. The distance between the bight of the rear rolls 16, '17 and the bight of rolls 40, 41 is chosen to be equal to the Width of a single card plus a portion of the width of a waste portion. Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, the operation is such'that a waste portion 24in the bight of rolls 40, 41 so positions the trailing card 22 that the rear portion thereof is in the bight of the rolls 16, 17. The speed of the rolls 40, 41 is faster than the speed of rolls 16, 17 so that the waste portion 24 is snapped off the card 22.

Immediately following the removal of the waste portion 24, as above described, the rear rolls of the bursting machine continue to feed the cards forwardly. The leading edge of card 22 enters the bight of rolls 40, 41. The spacing is such that the feed rolls 16, 17 are by this time gripping the trailing waste portion 26 allowing the rolls 40, 41 to snap the card from portion 26. The bursting of the two waste portions at the leading and trailing edges of a card is accomplished by driving the rolls 40, 41 much faster than the rear rolls of the bursting machine and spacing the rolls as specified. The bursting occurs quite rapidly, first at a line of weakening close to the rolls 40, 41 followed quickly by bursting at a line of weakening close to the rolls 16, 17. The waste portion is always removed from the front or leading edge of a card followed immediately by the bursting of the trailing card from the next waste portion. At the forward edge of card 21 there is located a waste portion 24 of relatively narrow extent in the direction of the continuous card stationery, and separated from the card 21 by a line of weakening 25. A similar waste portion 26 at the trailing edge of card 21 has a line of weakening 27 at its leading edge and a line of weakening 28 at its trailing edge. The cards are usually folded in zig-zag form. As folded, the cards are bent relative to each other about the leading weakened line of each waste portion, thus card 21 is folded relative to the following card 29 about the weakened line 27 at the forward edge of the waste portion 26. A similar fold would occur at the weakened line 30 on the next succeeding waste portion 31.

The particular construction of the attachment is shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 1. The pair of cooperating rolls 40 and 41 are driven about twice as fast as the rear rolls 16 and 17 of the bursting machine for removing the waste portion from the cards and the cards from the waste portions. The waste portions are dropped downwardly into a bin or tray 42 and the cards travel forwardly,through a pair of feed-out rolls 43 and 44 to be stacked in a tray 45. These rolls and trays are all part of a single unit attachable to the bursting machine or removable therefrom.

Referring to FIGURES 4, and 6, the bursting attachment is constructed with a pair of upstanding side plates 46 and 47 held in spaced relation by a number of spacing bars 48. The cooperating rolls 40 and 41 are mounted upon shafts 49 and 58, respectively. The shaft 49 for the lower roll has its bearings directly in the metal side plates of the frame. The shaft 58 for the upper roll is mounted in'bearing carriers 50 pivoted to the metal plate by a fastener 51, and urged downwardly by screw adjustment 52 in order to vary the pressure of the upper roll 40 on the lower roll 41. It should be noted in FIGURE 5 that the upper roll 40 has a number of segments in order to grip the cards locally against the continuous resilient surface of the lower roll 41.

The cards passing from the rear rolls "of the bursting machine are guided into the bight of the rolls 40 and 41 of the attachment by a pair of spaced guide plates 53 and 54 attached to the frame members, and carrying card hold down members 55, the latter being light springs to deflect the waste portions positively. As soon as the leading waste or chip portion engages the bight of the rolls 40 and 41, it is burst from its supporting card portion. Referring to FIGURE 3, the waste portion 24 is shown in the bight of the rolls 40 and 41 while the rear edge of the card 22 remains gripped between the rear rolls 16 and 17 of the bursting machine. The rolls of the attachment are turning faster at their periphery than the rear rolls of the bursting machine so that the chip or waste portion is snapped off of the card.

The drive means for the rolls 40 and 41 are supported on the frame of the attachment. Referring to FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 again, the drive includes a gear 56 in mesh 4 with the gear 57, respectively, attached to the shafts 49 and 58 for the rolls 41 and 40. These two gears have the same number of teeth and are of the same size so that the rolls may have the same peripheral speed since they are of the same size. The drive of these gears is accomplished through a drive gear 59 mounted on the shaft 58 and meshing with a larger gear 60 on a stubshaft 61 receiving driving input from sprocket 62. The sprocket is intended to be driven by a chain 63, shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 4, as coming from the bursting machine. A chain of proper length can be selected, and the gearing is chosen so as to provide a speed for the rolls 40 and 41 in excess of the speed of the rear rolls 16 and 17 of the bursting machine.

Following the bursting of a waste portion from a card, the card is advanced loosely between oflset roller POI" tions of a lower feed-out roll 44 and a similar portion of the upper feed-out roll 43. These rolls are supported respectively upon an upper shaft 64 and a lower shaft 65, and receive driving force from a gear 66 on the upper shaft 64. A pair of meshing gears 67 and '68 insure that the feed-out rolls 43 and 44 turn at the same or nearly the same speed. The entire drive gearing is mounted upon the plate 46 and the shafts mentioned.

The positioning of the attachment relative to the bursting machine in order to do a proper job of removing the waste portions from the tabulating cards, is quite easily accomplished. The lower ends of the side plates 46 and 47 are flat, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 6, for the plate 46. This plate has a lower surface 69 intended to rest directly upon the table 7 of the bursting machine. Stop members 70 are attached to the front of the plate 46 to engage the frame 18 of the bursting machine, locating the attachment so that the sprocket will be properly positioned. Ordinarily, no contact would be made between the attachment and the bursting machine as the position of the attachment is pre-determined by the posi tion of a pair of locating arms 71 and 72. Each locating arm has an upstanding flange with a semi-circular notch 73 just back of a forward sloping surface 74 on the flange. This notch is intended to fit over a round crossbar 75 of the bursting machine, and when in such position, the arm holds the attachment in a pre-determined position relative to the bursting machine. The arm-s are each pivoted as at 76 (FIG. 4) and urged in a single direction by a coiled compression spring 77. The rearward end 78 of the arm extends beyond the frame members to provide a means of manipulating the arms to release them from the crossbar 75 of the bursting machine. These arms may be properly positioned relative to the attachment frame to insure that the mere engagement of the notches on the crossbar will position the rolls of the attachment generally parallel to the bursting machine rolls and in proper spaced relation thereto. The chain drive may be selected with a proper number of links to reach the sprocket 62 when the attachment is properly positioned.

In the operation of the attachment with a bursting machine, the tabulating cards are trimmed of any side margins and led over the front rolls 11, 12 of the bursting machine to pass into the bight of the rear rolls of the bursting machine. The rear rolls forward the card toward the rolls 40 and 41 of the attachment. The chip portion passes into the bight of these rolls and is removed from the card. Ordinarily, the chip will adhere somewhat to the lower roll 41 but in the event it does not, it may strike a deflector 79 beyond the roll and thus fall into the tray 42. The card, after being burst from the trailing waste portion, will continue to the. feed-out rolls 43 and 44 and strike a bail 80 which directs it downwardly into the tray 45, provided with upstanding fingers 81 to stack the cards one on top of the other. The cards and chips are, therefore, respectively separated by the structure of the attachment. When the bursting machine s,010,ea

is to be used for other purposes than for separating tabulating cards, the chain drive to the sprocket 62 is removed, the locating arms actuated to release them from the crossbar of the bursting machine, and the entire attachment lifted from the bursting machine and stored in some convenient place. The simple act of removal of the attachment leaves the bursting machine ready to perform any other bursting operations on continuousform stationery, as desired. The attachment may be readily placed on the machine for purpose of handling tabulating cards and does not require any separate motor or take up additional space in a business ofiice.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for cleainess of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations have been understood therefrom, for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1 A removable attachment for adapting a bursting machine having driven front and rear pairs of bursting rolls to burst continuous-form tabulating cards and remove relatively narrow waste portions therefrom, comprising: a relatively rigid frame including spaced members having journals near the front thereof for a pair of coacting rolls and a lower surface for supporting the frame upon the bursting machine; said pair of coacting roll-s journalled in said journals; frontwardly extending locating arms secured to said frame and having means for readily and removably positioning said frame relative to said rear bursting rolls in accurate spaced relation thereto, said positioning means locating said coacting rolls at a distance from said rear bursting rolls to grip and remove a waste portion from a tabulating card fed toward said coacting rolls from said rear bursting rolls and while said card is gripped in said rear rolls; and drive means removably connecting said coacting rolls to said bursting machine driven rolls to selectively receive drive from said bursting machine, said drive means rotat ing said coacting rolls at a peripheral speed slightly faster than the speed of advance of said tabulating cards to the coacting rolls whereby waste portions may be removed sequentially from said cards and said cards burst from the remainder of said continuous form cards.

2. An attachment for a bursting machine as specified in claim 1, wherein said frame includes upright plates forming said spaced frame members, said locating arms are pivotally secured to said plates with means resiliently urging the arms in one direction about their pivots and the arms have notches in accurate spaced relation to said coacting rolls for engaging a cross rod in the bursting machine, said arms being urged into said engagement for holding said plates in pre-determined spaced relation to said bursting machine.

3. An attachment for a bursting machine as specified in claim 1 wherein said frame includes upright plates forming said spaced frame members, said coacting rolls are journalled in said plates and gears are secured to said plates to provide said drive means, said frame, coacting rolls and gears being removable from the bursting machine as a unit.

4. An attachment for a bursting machine as specified in claim 1 wherein said frame includes upright plates forming said spaced frame members and said coacting rolls are journalled in said plates in the forward portion thereof permitting location of said coacting rolls relatively close to the rear bursting rolls of the bursting machine without engagement of said plates with supporting members for said bursting machine rolls.

5. An attachment for a. bursting machine having driven front and rear pairs of bursting rolls usable for separating continuous form tabulating cards and waste portions alternately connected in series, comprising: a frame having upright side plates with bottom portions for supporting the attachment on the bursting machine; a pair of coating rolls mounted in the frame between the side plates one above the other; positioning arms on the frame extending forwardly toward the bursting machine, said arms having means removably securing and locating said coacting rolls generally parallel to and in pre-determined spaced relation to said rear bursting machine rolls; drive means supported on the frame connecting said pair of coacting rolls to said bursting machine driven rolls and adapted to selectively receive rotary motion from the bursting machine, said drive including gearing to provide said coacting rolls with a surface speed greater than the surface speed of tabulating cards fed to the rolls from said rear bursting machine rolls so that a waste portion may be removed from the card by bursting along a weakened line between the waste portion and its card while said card is gripped in said rear bursting machine rolls.

6. An attachment as specified in claim 5 wherein means are provided resiliently urging said positioning arms into locating securing relation with said bursting machine and said attachment frame, coacting rolls, drive and arms are removable as a unit from the bursting machine upon release of said arms from the bursting machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

